California Criminal Defense, Cryptocurrency, Immigration And Personal Injury Legal Blog

When you're asked questions by the police or even in court, do you have the option to plead the Fifth. This is also referred to as using your “right to remain silent.” You do not have to answer the question that was posed, and it is not illegal to simply state that you have no comment. But does i...

It feels like no one should make a false confession. If they didn't commit the crime, why would they want to spend time behind bars or pay significant financial fines? Why would they ever claim they did something illegal that they didn't do, putting their own future in jeopardy? But we know that ...

Witness testimony often carries a lot of weight in the court of public opinion. In some cases, all it takes is a news report. One person saying that another person is guilty of the crime is enough for many people to assume that that witness is telling the truth and that guilt has already been est...

It is significantly more common for men to pass away in car accidents than it is for women. Technically, everyone faces the risk of being involved in a serious crash every time they get in the car. But the statistics also show that these serious ramifications are just more likely for men. Why is ...

In many ways, embezzlement and theft are similar. They can both be tactics to take financial assets. They are also both criminal acts that could result in arrest. But the way that they happen is much different, and it's important to understand this, especially when facing charges. There are eleme...

The holiday season often involves a lot of travel. Some people fly across the country, while others may just drive 20 minutes to their grandparents' homes. But it's safe to say that there will be an increased amount of traffic on the road because much of this traveling takes place at the same tim...

When it comes to DUI arrests, the statistics are clear. Men are more likely to be arrested than women. For instance, one report from the Federal Bureau of Investigation indicated that 19% of drunk driving arrests were women, while the other 81% were men. The same trend can be seen when you look a...

If you get pulled over by the police, the officer will approach you and ask a number of questions. They will probably start by asking for your license and registration. But the questioning could go beyond that, and many drivers feel that they are obligated to answer. But are you? Generally, you h...

To get opposing lawmakers on the same page is a daunting, if not impossible, path in the current political climate. However, both sides are coming together to make life easier for a specific subset of the population. Serving a criminal sentence and being released back into the populace does not e...

People in countries that are fraught with conflicts, natural disasters or certain types of unrest may want to come to the United States to get relief from those conditions. Temporary protected status is an immigration program that enables people from predetermined countries to remain in the U.S. ...

There is a widely held belief that prison is designed to stop people from reoffending. If someone is convicted of a crime, they serve their punishment behind bars. When they get out, now understanding what the ramifications will look like, they are less likely to commit more crimes in the future....

In an emergency situation, you may not stop to think about what is legal and illegal. You will simply react the way that you believe is necessary in that emergency. For example, perhaps you are drinking with friends when someone is injured and needs to be rushed to the hospital. You decide to dri...

In some cases, teenagers can be tried as adults when facing criminal charges. Even though someone wouldn't technically be an adult until 18, for instance, they may be tried as if they were an adult while they are still underage. Often, this is done when the crime that the person is accused of com...

If you're facing criminal charges, you may feel that the police have abused your rights or even broken the law in some way. This misconduct could be a major part of your case. It could invalidate evidence or show the arrest wasn't necessary, for example. But police misconduct can look very differ...

All motorists must ensure they're in an appropriate mental state to drive before getting behind the wheel. One of the major problems that some drivers face is fatigue. Many individuals don't realize that fatigue can produce similar symptoms as drunk driving. Understanding the phenomenon of fatigu...

California has long been on the forefront of marijuana laws. It allowed the use of medical marijuana before many other states, and it already allows the use of recreational marijuana. Cannabis is a popular and commonly used substance in California, which sometimes leads people to believe that the...

Naturally, people can commit criminal acts at any age. A 12-year-old could shoplift from a nearby store, a 50-year-old could embezzle money from their company and a 70-year-old may try to commit some type of financial fraud. You can always find examples of people breaking the law at any age. That...

From the moment of arrest, your future is up in the air. Given your charge, the legal penalties you will face may be clear, but it can be challenging to move forward socially. It's possible you haven't told anyone about your run-in with the law due to a fear of judgment, and that's okay. But to b...

Feelings of shock and fear or even excruciating pain are common occurrences after a collision. But if your injuries don't require an ambulance ride straight to the emergency room, collecting as much evidence as possible to back up your accident claim is crucial. What's considered to be evidence? ...

Although we almost all know someone who has been in a collision, hearing about their experience may not be enough to prepare for the possibility of personal involvement in one. Accidents can bring on a lot of physical pain and emotional distress, but knowing what to do, starting at the scene of t...

Police officers will often use various tactics and tricks to try to manipulate potential suspects. They may try to get them to confess or provide information that they wouldn't otherwise. After all, police officers are often allowed to lie to suspects, and this is part of the reason why it's impo...

People who immigrate to the United States are sometimes interested in how they can become citizens. It may be a multi-step process. For instance, someone could come to the United States because they get a job, using an employment visa. They could then get married and use their status to get a gre...

Those who are facing criminal accusations may claim that they did not want to break the law. They were under duress. Someone or something else was pressuring them, and they felt that they had no choice. A potential example of this is if someone is threatened with physical harm. Say that a woman w...

There are some situations in which you may encounter a dog that seems dangerous or threatening. Often, your instincts tell you to run or yell. You're simply trying to escape the threat or perhaps frighten the dog so that it doesn't attack. But these instincts are often wrong. Trying to run away c...

When you hear about a crime involving assault, you probably can instantly picture a movie scene of someone threatening or harming another person. On the other hand, you might not know the level a violent act needs to escalate for it to become an aggravated assault. Before getting into a more deta...